The Coherent Wrestling Wednesdays: Adam Cole Is Back, Bay Bay, Is Brodie Lee's Latest Segment A Dig At Vinnie Mac Again?

As you can tell from the latest posts, there was no Coherent Wrestling Wednesdays piece last week due to the unfortunate news that the amount of WWE superstars were released from the company. For some reason, it ruined my vibe and because of it, I didn't review AEW or NXT. 

Now I got the excuse out of the way, how were NXT and Dynamite this week? The yellow brand did a better job this week especially in the storytelling side of things while Dynamite had some okay matches and segments that wouldn't piss an audience member off but it wouldn't surprise them. 

One thing that I'll give Dynamite the benefit of the doubt is that all the storylines decisions were the right decisions. 

NXT  

Highlights (At least in my opinion because wrestling is subjective). 

Adam Cole Is Back, Bay Bay.

Inside Balor's locker room, the prince happens to be missing and that led to Velveteen Dream cutting a promo about his upcoming challenger, Finn Balor. 

Undisputed Era's music hits and here came Adam Cole *crowd shouts BAY BAY!* to tell the Dream that he ain't taking the title away from Cole.  

The rest of the Undisputed Era attacked Velveteen Dream from behind and fortunately for the Dream,  Keith Lee came to the rescue. 

We haven't seen Cole in an arena since there were crowds. Cole's appearance was a definite highlight right there. 

It was random that Keith just suddenly showed up to save Velveteen Dream but nevertheless, the segment was decent. 

Drake Maverick vs Tony Atlas. Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament. 

Based on what we saw that night, they're turning Maverick's firing into a storyline which I don't know how to feel about it.

It kinda tells the audience that the future WWE releases "is one big work you guys", based on the way the company consistently mentions Sarah Logan on Monday Night RAW and the aforementioned Drake Maverick. The match though was entertaining. 

One of the best aspects of this was when Tom Phillips on commentary brought up Drake's past on how he got into the business and it was excellent storytelling on his part. 

Unfortunately, Maverick didn't pick up the W because Atlas advances in the interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament with the cart well DDT. By the way, Atlas' theme song is really, really, really, really awful. 

Tony Nese vs Kushida. Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament. 

I liked Nese's promotional video about how he hasn't been pinned when he lost the championship in a triple threat match. 

Nese at one point during the match, nailed a beautiful moonsault but Kushida got out of it. Another beautiful move that the premier athlete did was a 450 splash from the top rope. 

The match concluded when Kushida threw Nese down in the mat which was followed by an armbar to advance in the tournament. Another fun cruiserweight match. Who knew? 

El Hijo Del Fantasma Has Finally Arrived At NXT In The Interim Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Against Jack Gallagher. 

Finally, King Cuerno is in the WWE building and that debut alone is worthy of being called a highlight. You know what else is a highlight? 

Fantasma's signature suicide dive. Thanks to  El Hijo Del Fantasma's Samoan driver, he has now advanced in the tournament. 

The same masked guys that captured Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza tried to kidnap El Hijo but he stood up for himself so their plan failed. I'm intrigued as to who's behind the masked stable and their motivation. 

Keith Lee And Damian Priest's North American Championship Video Package. 

This promotional piece for the North American championship that is taking place next week, was all about Damian Priest and in the video, he mentioned how Keith Lee hasn't defeated him fair and square. Priest also said that in his early tenure with NXT, he actually pinned Lee clean which was a nice use of continuing. 

I love this video package for a few reasons. One, as I stated earlier, the use of continuity and two (which is kind of related to one), this is a match that has a higher chance of Keith losing the North American championship simply because he hasn't pinned Priest whether it's his one on one match last year or the triple threat match a couple of weeks ago. 

It's indeed a worthy challenger for Lee and honestly, I don't mind hearing the ring announcer shouting after the championship match is over "AND NEW NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPION". 

Some Other Things That Happened. 

Dakota Kai And Raquel Gonzalez vs Shotzi Blackheart And Tegan Nox - It was a fine 10-minute tag team match. However, the way Gonzalez hits the powerbomb on Shotzi to end this match looked badass. 

Johnny Gargano And Candice LeRae Talked About What They Deserve - They basically pulled out a Ray J on the breakfast show interview a decade ago "I'M TIRED OF BEING HUMBLE. I'M TIRED OF BEING LOWKEY". Candice LeRae has now turned to the dark side and while I'll give more time as to how I feel about that, Johnny's heel run is something I have given more time and he in this role absolutely, sucks. 

His portrayal is not convincing and it just feels like he's trying so hard to be a bad guy. He, as a good guy, is much better but that's just me. 

Mia Yim vs Jessi Kamea - A meh match. Yim wins with the protect ya neck finish. Charlotte Flair made her presence in this episode by telling Yim that she's pretty much a good hand. Ohhhhhh, after that line, I cannot wait to see this bout. 

Keith Lee And Velveteen Dream vs The Undisputed Era In Roderick Strong And Adam Cole - This main event bout was okay. Lee was taken out of the match because Damian Priest hits the champ on his throat with a chair and Dexter Lumis was his replacement. Lumis' impressive performance led to a W for his team alongside the Velveteen Dream. 

AEW 

Highlights (at least in my opinion because wrestling is subjective). 

Cody Rhodes Briefly Mentioned His Fellow TNT Championship Tournament Participants. 

The production value in this opening segment was something I would see in an HBO television show or something because it was just fantastic. 

From Cody sitting on his chair looking at the videos of the TNT championship tournament competitors to the seamless transition between Rhodes' promo and the highlight videos, it had to be the best-directed videos I've seen from AEW so far. 

Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara. TNT Championship Tournament.

Both guys at one point almost injured themselves with a splash from Sammy to Allin on the ladder that was set up between the ring and the barricade. 

Darby then further damaged Guevara's right leg and Allin used his leg for a unique pinfall to win this match. A solid opening contest. 

Some Other Things That Happened. 

Broken Matt Hardy Calls Out Chris Jericho's Replacement In The Hardy Compound - The promo from Matt Hardy was similar from the promo two weeks ago but the difference is that it brought up the Sane Matt Hardy aka normal Matt Hardy which was nice. 

Kenny Omega vs Allen Angels - It was all Kenny Omega and it's odd for AEW to give the guy a showcase considering that I know what he's capable of in the ring but I'm just nitpicking. Omega won the match with the one-winged angel. 

Scorpio Sky Shows His Life As A Wrestler - A very humanizing promo package. Sky talks about his love for pro wrestling since childhood and how at one point during his career, he suffered a back injury that needed surgery but the doctor would tell him that he can't wrestle no more after the surgery. 

Orange Cassidy vs Jimmy Havoc - God damn, Jason Solomon… I mean, Orange Cassidy can sell any moves a wrestler executes. 

Cassidy wins with a crucifix to which Havoc and Kip Sabian stomped on the winner of Havoc's match but Cassidy got some help thanks to his Best Friends. 

A Squash Match From Wardlow - Exactly as it sounds. 

MJF Has A Hangnail Injury - Basically, in his promo, he tells the audience that after MJF recovers, he will be back stronger than ever. Meh. 

Is Brodie Lee's Latest Segment A Dig At Vinnie Mac Again? - Based on my limited research, it wasn't and all I can say is, THANK GOD.  But first, let me describe the segment.

Before his one-sided match with Justin Law, He scheduled a Dark Order interview for an upcoming recruiter that's been dealing with a lot of bad things in his life and tells the guy to join the Dark Order. 

A Flim Flam Video Featuring The Inner Circle - Besides Hager's awful dancing and Guevara's perfect moves, this segment was okay. It definitely didn't make me laugh but at least it wasn't offensive. 

Dustin Rhodes vs Kip Sabian. TNT Championship Tournament. If Rhodes Loses Then He Retires From Pro Wrestling -  Going into this match, I and a lot of fans, knew that Dustin ain't losing this match and now after witnessing this match, I was right. 

I feel like AEW added an unnecessary sake in this bout given that it wasn't a major talent facing him and rather it was a talented but mid-card wrestler like Kip Sabian. 

The question is, what are some of the highlights on both episodes in your opinion? Let me know in the comments below and follow me on Twitter @omartheplayaguy. Anyways, stay safe smarks.